No proper food, say labourers

MADURAI: Bonded labourers rescued from a private brick kiln in Peraiyur near here on Thursday have alleged that the district administration was not providing them with sufficient food.One of the labourers said that they were accommodated at a a marriage hall in Uthangudi for the past two days. Officials have not provided sufficient food, neither did they allow us to go out to buy anything.The labourers said they hailed from Prakasam district in AP. “Some people from outside bought us curd rice for lunch, which was not sufficient,” a labourer said. “There are as many as 19 children with us. But we did not receive milk and bread to feed them,” he added.An official who was entrusted with the task of taking care of the rescued bonded labourers said that she did not receive any written order from her superiors.P Purushothaman, Peraiyur circle inspector, said that he was not informed about the rescue of the bonded labourers. No FIR was made in the jurisdictional police station till Saturday noon.“However, we have registered an FIR on Saturday after the intervention of Collector U Sagayam. We are searching for the brick kiln owner Raja,” the Inspector added.Despite repeated attempts, the Collector could not be reached for comment.